1) I found it really hard to stick with adjectives. I kept wanting to use [adjective noun] like "great cook" or "good singer".

2) I tried to stay away from physical descriptions, like brunette, short, tall, etc. I wanted to delve into who I am, not what I look like right now. That was more difficult than I expected. (I couldn't resist "buxom" because a) it's true, and b) it seems like such a friendly word. You never hear about buxom but cranky heroines or barmaids.)

3) It was easier to come up with negative words than positive ones, and some of the words I chose could be negative or positive, depending on the context and the reader's connotative associations. I leave it to you to figure out which 33 are the negative words.

4) The positive adjectives are how I believe or want other people see
me, and how I see myself on my best days. The negative adjectives, I
think, are how I see myself most of the time.

5) Many of these words are directly opposed to each other; that doesn't make any of them untrue. I am at times idealistic and at other times cynical. I am at times aloof, at other times sensitive. I am both lazy and enthusiastic, I am both literate and, formally speaking, uneducated. I believe this is true for every human being I've ever met - we are complex and often contradictory creatures.

So that's my list. Anything you think I left out? What's on your list?

2 comments:

I noticed the same things when I made my list. So much of it seemed contradictory, and I was surprised at the number of words that were not really either positive or negative. All in all, I feel like it helped me gain a bit a bit personal perspective without making me rip myself open. I think I'd like to make this an annual exercise.

Wow, what a great challenge. I would likely also find it easier to write the negative ones too.

Although I do not know the "full" you, I did spend a whole week in very close quarters with you. So I feel I know you well enough to argue a couple of your adjectives. I've accompanied the words by the "google" definition.